


‘Cause all my time is spent here

by lerayon



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29349615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lerayon/pseuds/lerayon
Summary: For Pitch Secret Admirers 2021.
Relationships: Ginny Baker/Mike Lawson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18
Collections: Pitch Valentine's Gift Exchange 2021





	‘Cause all my time is spent here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lovedmoviesb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovedmoviesb/gifts).



“What are you wearing on your date tonight?”

Ginny doesn’t bother glancing up from her phone before answering, “Not a date, Ev. No one’s dating.”

“Not with that attitude.”

That earns Evelyn an eye-roll. In the silence that follows, Ginny can feel her friend’s gaze on her so she reluctantly sets her phone aside.

“What? Mike and I are friends. We hang out all the time; this is not new.”

Ginny has lost count of the number of times they’ve had this conversation over the last few weeks. It’s like the second the holidays were over, Ev shifted from party-planning mode into…whatever this is. Obsess over Ginny’s love life mode. Lack of love life. All Ginny wants to do is enjoy this last bit of offseason before she has to head down to Peoria.

She doesn’t have time to get into all this again so she changes the subject with a question about the twins’ spring musical. Fifteen minutes later she’s out the door and on the way to La Jolla.

She and Mike are going to the movies, and Ginny’s wearing what she wore to Ev’s earlier that afternoon – joggers and a half-zip sweater. She’s dressed for comfort and functionality; this is not a date. Ginny is firm on this point because if she were dating Mike, she’d have to admit to herself that she’s in love with him. Like, fully acknowledge it and make big life decisions based on it. Instead of actively ignoring it.

She knows this approach is borderline delusional and ultimately unsustainable, but her life is already too big and too messy. Baseball, family. Big. Messy. As long as she sticks with the self-deception that her feelings for Mike don't extend beyond the platonic, Ginny can keep things relatively simple.

The only thing is…it’s getting harder to pretend.

\--

When she arrives at the theater Mike is waiting for her, tickets in hand and two pounds of peanut M&Ms tucked in his hoodie. Ginny loves how well their movie snack philosophies align: Popcorn is a must (lightly buttered, but no salt); the fountain drinks at AMC are mixed better than the ones at the ArcLight; concession candy is a rip-off and it’s your God-given right to smuggle in your own.

Mike greets her with his easy smile and they fall into their routine. Since he is on smuggling duty, it’s Ginny’s turn to buy the drinks and popcorn. Mike scoops up the drinks while she grabs napkins and straws, then he leads them into their theater and spots seats that conform to a longstanding compromise that puts them just left of center. Ginny’s been telling him about Evelyn’s school play sewing battles since the snack line, and she finishes up just as they sit down. The movie is loud and fun and, as usual, they spend most of the time reacting to each other’s sarcastic asides as much as to the action onscreen.

On her drive home, Ginny’s mind wanders back to the darkened theater, and she allows herself the indulgence of recalling the tilt of Mike’s head when she would whisper in his direction – the weight of his arm on her knee when he’d periodically offer her the bag of M&Ms. She can still smell the subtle scent of his cologne on her clothes from their proximity, and from the parting hug they shared in the parking lot.

Remembering the dumb little wave Mike did as she drove away, Ginny suddenly misses him. Her car feels too big and empty, and all she wants to do is turn around and head to Mike’s house where they could stretch out in front of the television together on his giant couch. She knows he wouldn’t even mind if she showed up there unannounced tonight. He’d just answer the door, crack some joke about her not getting enough of him, and leave her to close the door on her own while he went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of wine.

As much as Ginny craves that easy acceptance, it’s what keeps her from turning the car around. Every time Mike welcomes her in without question or reservation and makes room for her in his life, it gets harder for Ginny to leave him. So, for now at least, she’ll drive on home and keep pretending.


End file.
